Opaque hair treating compositions



Patented Sept. 21, 1954 4 2,689,815 OPAQUE HAIR TREATING COMPOSITIONS Solomon D. Gershon, Melvin A. Goldberg, and William R. Netzbandt, Chicago, Ill., assignors to Lever Brothers Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Maine No Drawing. Application November 15, 1950, Serial No. 195,902

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to an opaque liquid base for hair treating lotions, containing an opacifier which is a finely divided aqueous dispersion of polystyrene and a non-ionic wetting agent, such tact each and every strand of the hair with an ample amount of keratin reducing agent of the desired concentration. This facilitates the obtention of a substantially even chemical effect as an ether, thio-ether, or ester derivative of a 5 upon each strand of hair undergoing treatment, p y yl ne ly l of an av r g m l ular so that the same hair forming effect will be obweight of about 300 to 1500, preferably about 900. tained throughout each strand of hair, as de- The invention also relates to hair molding lotions sired, for all strands of hair being treated. In containing this base together with a keratin reorder to obtain an attractive permanent waving, ducing agent such as a salt, ester or amide of it is important that the waving effect be imthioglycolic acid. parted equally throughout each strand of hair Various kerat n educ ents ha e b e undergoing treatment, and also equally between s ted for use in cold h ir mol in ie.. hair the various strands of hair. The compositions waving or hair straightening preparations, and of the invention are admirably suited for this of these, derivatives of thioglycolic acid have atpurpose, notwithstanding their great opacity. In tained a measure of prominence. Analogous subaddition, they can be thoroughly removed from sti uted or ni mer aptan containin a polar the hair by rinsing, at the end of the treatment. group may also be used. Generally, the concen- The objects achieved in accordance with the tration of the keratin reducing agent in aqueous invention include the provision of a stable, efiisolution s less t 5% y g t, d g ncient, opaque, white, hair molding composition, orally the D 0f the solution is in the an e o and other objects which will be apparent as deabout 7-0 t ou a pH of about 9.2 to 9.5 tails or embodiment of the invention are set being desirable. forth hereinafter.

It has been common practice to market these In order to facilitate a clear understanding of hair molding compositions in an aqueous soluthe invention, a preferred specific embodiment tion containing some ingredient to impart a is included at the outset. creamy appearance. The public, to a large extent, has come to associate such compositions EXAMPLE 1 with their appearance. Thus a composition F rmul ion of re m h ir'm l mp i which has a translucent, opalescent orwatery Gm appearance is not thought'to be as desirable as Thioglycolic acid 6L0 one which has a dense white, creamy appearance sodium hydroxide 275 and retains its whiteness and opacity under Ammonia 58 strong light, either reflected or transmitted. Lauryl ether of polyethylene glycol In accordance with the invention it has been (m w. 900) 10.0 found that a finely divided aqueous dispersion of Polystyrene polystyrene and a non-ionic wetting agent, such Water distilled 3915 as a higher alkyl substitution derivative of a i if moderately high molecular weight polyethylene In m m up F1115 composltloni a finely dlvlded glycol provides a composition that has the de- 40 qu u sp f t p y t en d the sired opacity and is otherwise an especially adlaulyl ether 18 made finely dlvlded amorvantageous base for hair molding compositions. Pholls Polystyrene may be Prepared in accord- When this is blended with the keratin reducing a e t known e 0 Obtained from agent to form a composition having a suitable mercial suppliers. A commercial material may pH, an attractive white, creamy appearing, contain small amounts of wetting or dispersing opaque hair molding preparation is obtained. agents. These agents may be removed by wash- This preparation is very stable against separation i g t e sp si th Wat However. t has of the suspension. While it has a whiteopaque been found that such washing is not necessary, appearance which is highly desirable yet it may and that the commercially available materials be conveniently applied to the hair so as toconmay be blended in accordance with the invention to provide the cream base. made up by mixing:

This base may be These materials are thoroughly mixed, e. g., by high speed agitation, to provide the opaque base, which is added to a concentrate formed of:

Aqueous thioglycolic acid (71.5 wt. per

cent) gm 85:5 Aqueous sodium hydroxide (7.5 N) ml .920 Aqueous ammonium hydroxide (28 wt. per

cent) ':ml 23.0

Distilled Water to make totalof'950 ml.

These material are thoroughly mixed, e. g., by high speed agitation, with distilled water to make a total of 1000 ml., to give a stable opaque, white cold hair waving or straightening composition.

The polystyrene latex may be made by polymerization of an aqueous :dispersion of monomeric styrene, as known in theart. Analternative procedure is .to form .asolut'ion of the polymer .in a suitable solvent, make an aqueous dispersion thereof, and then remove the solvent, e. g., by extraction, drying, or the like.

In a preferred commercially available polystyrene latex, the polystyrene particles are substantially spherical, nicknamed billiard balls, and consist of particles of extremely small diameter, about '70 to 90% of which are of uniform diameter, and the remainder are somewhat similar. The polystyrene is non-sticky and does not undergo chemical decomposition or changes in the presence of the other ingredients of the composition. It is believed that the greater opacity of the compositions of the invention is associated with the spherical shape and fine particle size of the polystyrene in combination with a relatively large amount of the non-ionic wetting agent. This is a marked improvement over opacifiers or thickeners that have been suggested heretofore.

In order to compare the superiority of the liquid base made in accordance with the invention with the conventional bases of the ,prior art, a composition was prepared in accordance with Example 1. and did not lose its white appearance when viewed by strong transmitted light or when viewed by reflectedlightagainst a black background.

For comparison, a composition was made up having the same amount of polymer solids but employinga polyacrylate such as disclosed in the prior patent literature. This composition had a more gray appearance in ordinary light. The gray appearance was very marked when viewed by reflected light against a black background It had an opalescent, translucent appearance when viewed in strong transmitted light.

The relative opacities of the two compositions were determined using a General Electric spectrophotometer and transparent Lucite cells in reflectance measuring position. The Lucite cells had a front window 0.050 inch thick, path length 0.050 inch and back window inch. The light getting back into the integrating sphere from this system with both standard black and white backgrounds against the back of the cell was recorded.

The data obtained demonstrated major differences between the compositions. The polystyrene composition was very opaque at all wave lengths.

It had a dense white appearance The polyacrylate composition is less than half as opaque at the violet end and almost entirely transparent at the red, making the polystyrene composition considerably superior with respect to opacity under varying conditions of viewing.

The following numerical data, based on black background readings, support these statements:

Wave Length Total Light Composition (millimi- Reflected,

crons) percent Polystyrene 400 31 Polyacrylate 400 12 Polystyrene 700 16. 3 Polyacrylate 700 2. 0

If the data is expressed in a manner analogous to that adopted by the Technical Association of the Pulp & Paper Industry for contrast ratios of paper, the following values are obtained:

LWave1 Emil; engt 1 lg Composmon (milli- Reflected,

microns) percent Polystyrene l 400 71. 5 Polyacrylate 400 55. 0 Polystyrene. 700 46. 5 P olyacrylate. 700 17.8

On the whole, it may be said that the polystyrene composition is at least twice as opaque as the polyacrylate composition.

The commercially available polystyrene lattices, e. g., contain about 30 to weight per cent of polystyrene. They are well known in the art i. e., the monolauryl ether of polyethylene glycol of an average molecular weight of about 300 to 1500, preferably 900. The lauric radical can be replaced by similar radicals having 10 to 18 carbon atoms.

In the broader aspects of the invention, not necessarily fully equivalent to the above, there may be used in place of the lauryl ether, a monolauric acidester of polyethylene glycol of an average molecular weight of about 300 to 1500', or a mono iso-octylphenyl ether of a polyethylene glycol of about 300 to 1500 average molecular Weight, or a tertiary dodecyl mono thioether of a polyethylene glycol of about 300* to 1500 average molecular weight, or equivalent non-ionic material. 7

Where all of the advantages associatedwith the above non-ionic type dispersing agents are not required, there may used instead one of the following dispersing agents: a condensation product of a fatty acid chloride with a partially hydrolyzed protein (e. g.,a product known commercially as Maypon 4C), or a sulfonated alkylated aryl ether of a polyethylene glycol of about 600 The keratin reducing agent may be an amide, ester, salt or other derivative of a substituted mercaptan, i. e., a mercapto alkanoic acid such as thioglycolic acid, or thioglycerol. These compounds are known in the art and our invention is not concerned with their novelty. They can be used in the amount known in the art to achieve the desired hair molding depending in part also on the alkalinity of the composition and the speed of molding desired. The alkaline agent may be ammonia, an amine or other nitrogenous base, an alkali metal hydroxide, or other alkaline compound or mixture as known in the art and may be used in an amount to achieve the desired alkalinity also as known in the art.

The foregoing descriptions are for purposes of illustration, and variations and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A cream hair molding composition for hair treating which comprises a substantial proportion of a keratin reducing agent dissolved in a finely divided aqueous dispersion of a substantially saturated amorphous solid polystyrene and about 100% to 1000% by weight of a non-ionic dispersing agent based on the polystyrene.

2. The composition of claim 1 wherein the nonionic dispersing agent is a substitution derivative of a polyethylene glycol having an average molecular weight of about 300 to 1500 which derivative has a lipophylic hydrocarbon group of to 18 carbon atoms.

3. The composition of claim 2 wherein the 6 derivative is the lauryl ether of polyethylene glycol of an average molecular weight of about 900 and is present in an amount of about 500% based on the polystyrene.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,970,578 Schoeller Aug. 21, 1934 2,280,830 Johnson Apr. 28, 1942 2,309,722 Wilkes -1 Feb. 2, 1943 2,464,281 Peterson Mar. 15, 1949 2,508,341 Wilson May 16, 1950 OTHER REFERENCES India Rubber World, New Resin Emulsion, Aug. 1946, page 675.

Notes on synthetics-4, Vinyl Resins, The Oil and Colour Trades Journal, Jan. 21, 1944, pages 92-94 and 96.

Resin Dispersions and Emulsions, Standard Chemical Co., Feb. 14, 1945, Akron 8, Ohio.

Glyco, Chemicals by, Glyco Products Co., Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., 1948 (91 pages), pages 4-6 considered especially pertinent.

Ludwig, Investigations of Aqueous Aorysol, Geon and Saran Dispersions, Oificial Digest, No. 262, Nov. 1946, pages 503-512.

Ludwig, Further Investigation of Aqueous Dispersions of Vinyl Polymers, Official Digest, No. 276, Jan. 1948, pages 1144125. 

1. A CREAM HAIR MOLDING COMPOSITION FOR HAIR TREATING WHICH COMPRISES A SUBSTANTIAL PROPORTION OF A KERATIN REDUCING AGENT DISSOLVED IN A FINELY DIVIDED AQUEOUS DISPERSION OF A SUBSTANTIALLY SATURATED AMORPHOUS SOLID POLYSTYRENE AND ABOUT 100% TO 1000% BY WEIGHT OF A NON-IONIC DISPERSING AGENT BASED ON THE POLYSTYRENE. 